Leg Post 85
Leg Post 85 sees the return of Pirithous. He has established himself a fine and gentle life in Oeta Town with his wife, Hippodamia, and his step-son, Polypoetes. He has helped to turn Oeta Town into a great producer for all of Greece, though he has taken care to ensure the place retains its scenic qualities. He has now, however, been roped into a reconnaissance mission by his old friend, Aman Tabiz. He is visiting the River God, Achelous, at his partially submerged home on the River Achelous. Achelous is considered the prime river god, each river having its own deity or spirit. He regales Pirithous with many stories, but one in particular is helpful to Pirithous. The god tells how he fell in love with the human woman, Deianira, but lost a battle with Hercules for the right to show affections to her. Prithous is quiet as he feels guilt, being responsible for the deaths of both Hercules and Deianira in Leg Post 64. In that battle, one of Achelous' horns was pulled off and is now the aquatic cornucopia and stands upon the mantlepiece of his home. He reveals, however, that the original cornucopia belonged to Amalthea, the foster mother to Zeus. He doesn't know where it is, but asserts that a land of great prosperity and natural beauty would wield clues. Pirithous sails down the river towards his home in Thessaly when he meets Aman and he relates all that he has learnt, including the location of the cornucopia on the mantlepiece. Sometime later and Aman is seen in Sanctuary with the aquatic cornucopia for safekeeping. Zoroaster supposes that the artefacts are safer now that the dragon, Aži Dahāka, has left Mount Damavand, as in Leg Post 84. Post Cornucopia Pirithous was a changed man. Since he married and came to live with Hippodamia and her son, Polypoetes, he was well-groomed, straight-backed and always wore a friendly smile – a genuine one. He wore simple but neater clothes and most of the wealth he inherited from his past life he poured into renovating the small village. It soon had greater pastures, warehouses and was a thriving producer of food for the rest of Greece. Yet he was careful never to overinvest and disparage the quiet, scenic beauty that the town held. Simply named after the nearby mountain, Oeta Town, Pirithous had been living peacefully and happily. That was until he was dragged into the schemes of his old friend. Pirithous looked down at the off food served unto him. It was oysters with prawns and a fillet of trout, which he poked with his knife. It was dead, certainly, but barely. Pirithous never liked the idea of eating living organisms. However he was obliged to eat for the sake of his host. He looked up as the large man sat himself down in an armchair by, what should have been, the fireplace. Except, instead of fire, there were bubbles whizzing up the chimney breast as a fissure emitted heat into the submerged house. Pirithous was seated on the section of the room that was raised out of the river water, along with the table and his meal. His host was seated in the warm water like it was a hotspring. He grinned at Pirithous encouragingly. Achelous: “Eat up, son! Don’t be shy!” Pirithous: “Thank you, sir. This is very kind of you.” Achelous: “I don’t get to act as host for many mortals, I’m happy for the company!” He was a tall man with broad shoulders and long arms. He had a great beard that was moulded into two halves that looked like half-moons on either side of his chin. Upon his head was one huge horn that looked like it would be too heavy for his head to support. On the other side, where the matching horn ought to be, was a stump. He wore riverweeds over his body like a toga and his skin was a light shade of green. Father of all rivers, Achelous, made his home in the similarly named Acheloos River and was considered the overseer of all rivers in Greece, each of which had its own river spirit. As God of Rivers, he had a close relationship with Poseidon, God of Oceans, that was not always positive. Pirithous ate and complimented the deity as best he could. It tasted great, despite the wiggling oysters. Pirithous: “So, you were telling me about your, uh, horn.” Achelous: “Yes. Unfortunate business. There was a human girl I had become quite… well, to be blunt, enamoured with. Please don’t judge me, son, I am not prone to fraternising with humans normally… but this young lady had a sweetness about her that just… captured my heart.” Pirithous: “I can relate to that, sir.” Achelous: “Yes, I would imagine so! You told me of your beautiful wife, Hippodamia. I’m glad you can understand my feelings. But, someone else was interested in her too. And he was a mortal. I considered letting him pursue her and let it be, but I just… I truly wanted to be with her.” Pirithous: “Did she choose him?” Achelous: “In a manner of speaking. We fought for the right to pursue her. I took a mortal form and we battled. I was a fool, truly. I am new to these sensations, you understand? But I am no warrior, even as a god, and as a human I was outmatched. Hercules defeated me in battle and ripped off my horn…” He sighed but Pirithous’ nerves pricked. Pirithous: “Oh… what did you say the name of this woman was?” Achelous: “Deianira. Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Guilt was a new sensation to Pirithous and he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. He was not only responsible for the death of Hercules by tricking the young Deianira with a poisoned shirt, but therefore responsible for her death by execution too. Achelous: “Well, for my audacity, I now have just a single horn.” Pirithous: “I have heard that your horn is now considered the Cornucopia. A much prized possession…” He glanced over at the mantlepiece beside the bull-horned god and saw the horn resting there. It was full of river life wriggling around. Pirithous thought it was a little gruesome to keep a piece of your own body lying around, like keeping his own leg should it be chopped off, but he supposed such an object would be quite potent in powers. And this made it important to his friend. Achelous: “That depends really.” Pirithous rose an eyebrow. Pirithous: “Oh?” Achelous: “Technically my horn could be considered a Cornucopia. It will provide abundance to any who hold it. But it is not the original Cornucopia.” Pirithous: “I had no idea!” Achelous: “The original horn was that of Amalthea, the foster mother of Zeus. After he was cast out from his mother’s care, whoever she might be I do not know, he was taken care of by Amalthea here on Earth. She breastfed the baby, taught him to walk and talk. Made him a young man.” Pirithous: “I’m surprised he didn’t come out as a whole man. I thought gods did that?” Achelous: “Some do, some don’t. There’s no consistency there. I think it depends on the parents’ desire. Anyway, the original horn was hers. That would be a much more precious possession.” Pirithous: “And where might that be?” Achelous: “Well, I wouldn’t rightly know. But if you hear tell of a land that is highly prosperous and rich in food, then you might find it there.” Pirithous: “Not that I have any interest in it, of course. But I know those who might be. Thank you.” Pirithous remained for some time with the river god and moved onto other topics. By the evening, the Greek-Egyptian took his leave. He rowed his small boat along the river, back towards Thessaly, until he saw a shadow lurking by the river. Pirithous: “Lo! Who goes there?” Aman Tabiz: “An interested party.” Pirithous: “The horn of Achelous is on the mantlepiece. It looks heavy.” Aman Tabiz: “Target acquired.” Pirithous: “There is something else you would be interested in though.” Aman Tabiz: “Alarms?” Pirithous: “Uh, no…” Aman Tabiz: “Guard dogs?” Pirithous: “None that I could see.” Aman Tabiz: “Guard cats?” Pirithous: “Really?” Aman Tabiz: “They screech and scratch.” Pirithous: “There is a second horn…” Two months later. Zoroaster: “I see you have brought something new to add to your growing collection?” Aman Tabiz didn’t reply and just walked past the old sorcerer with a box that appeared to be sprouting reeds and dripping with water. Zoroaster: “Well I suppose they’re safer now that the dragon is gone…" Notes Britt's Commentary "This post furthers the idea of Aman Tabiz collecting relics of the gods. The legend of the cornucopiaCornucopia article, Wikipedia. has two origin stories, which I decided to include as two separate artefacts. I planned to tie the second cornucopia to the legend of Shangri-LaShangri-La article, Wikipedia.." ~ Britt the Writer References External References Category:Post Category:Leg Post